The Missouri Republican Party convened a conference call of the state’s media this past week to express their political outrage about a coffee pot shared by a Senate campaign manager and a union director.

Conducting with both her body’s sway and her distinctive left hand cue, the worship music flows from Jan Houser and her piano through the choir’s voice, hopefully to touch congregation members’ souls Sunday mornings at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, where she is music director.
Her humble yet equally talented husband, Steven, can be found singing in the choir’s back row, providing interlude on his saxophone, or quietly making technical adjustments for Jan throughout a Sunday’s service, too.

Gene Hamilton served community for 28 years

Hundreds of friends and colleagues gathered at a reception Friday night in Fulton to honor Circuit Judge Gene Hamilton on his retirement.
During the reception, speakers lauded Hamilton not only for his exceptional legal skills but also his high standards of excellence he maintained during his long career as a prosecutor and judge.

A church in Pisco Playa, Peru, was destroyed by an earthquake in 2007 and re-opened in May 2010. The students at Immaculate Conception School held a “penny war” this week to help support the schoolchildren in that area.

A new face in the Governor's Mansion, Laura Bennett-Smith, joined Missouri Mansion Preservation as the executive director just over a year ago and has since found little chance for rest.
Plans for reorganizing holiday events are under way and include the mansion taking on a different look than even the most frequent of visitors may not recall from years past.

Sarah Stroesser wants everyone to know what a great place Jefferson City is. With the help of four new visitors, that might happen.
Stroesser, communications director for Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced that four writers for various publications from both in and out of state are visiting the area through Tuesday to profile different interesting aspects of the city and surrounding area.

Students all treated and released; group of 30 returning from pageant in Atlanta expected back on campus today

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Some college students involved in a crash on Interstate 75 at East Ridge on Sunday credited their bus driver’s quick thinking for minimizing the impact.
All the students from Jefferson City’s Lincoln University declined to give their names after an adviser told them not to.
About 30 students were returning from the Miss Historically Black Colleges and Universities Pageant in Atlanta, where one had placed second.
They were near the northbound welcome center at East Ridge, Tenn., when police said Esdras Lopez Chavez, 23, lost control of his Ford Mustang and hit the bus in the right front corner. The impact knocked the bus over one lane and nearly into the concrete median wall, students said.
Initially, 16 students were taken to four Chattanooga area hospitals, where all were treated and released.

Thursday, September 23

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senators pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission's chief enforcement official Wednesday to explain why the agency has yet to demote or fire staffers who waited 12 years to bring charges against an alleged major Ponzi scheme.

Michael Egnew is second on the team in receptions (29) and yards (257) after three games. It's exactly what the junior envisioned when he was being recruited after watching the exploits of Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker.

Residents unhappy over timeline, procedures

The question of when residents will vote on a proposed ordinance to remove mandatory participation in Jefferson City's trash contract may have been answered at Monday night's City Council meeting, but there are still some unanswered questions.

Wednesday, September 22

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Federal regulators said Wednesday they have approved a plan to allow a pipeline that leaked at least 820,000 gallons of oil in southern Michigan this summer to gradually restart.

The Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescued more than 100 dogs from a licensed breeder in Camden County on Tuesday.

The Helias Crusaders concentrated on their run game at practice this week.
It was time well spent, as the Crusaders ran around, over and through the MICDS Rams on Thursday night in a 40-20 victory at Adkins Stadium.

Suspect mistakenly stabbed dean

A man accused of stabbing a Kansas City college official intended to instead attack Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and mistakenly believed he had done so, police said Thursday.
The suspect, 22-year-old Casey Brezik, did not know Nixon and had no particular beef with the governor, but he decided to attack him because he was a top government official, Kansas city police spokesman Darin Snapp said.

The current status of Jefferson City’s contract with Allied Waste may soon be for the dustbin.
Michelle Gleba, Jefferson City communications manager, announced Thursday morning the City Council will hear the introduction of an ordinance to change the terms of the trash contract to alter the number of households that will be served and the amount Allied Waste will have to pay the city.

Wednesday, September 15

Allow us to offer our opinion about your opinions.
First, our thanks to all contributors.
In our opinion, the forum is at its best when it serves as an exchange of ideas that advance a community conversation.

Tuesday, September 14

Opportunity soon will be knocking.
A three-part strategic plan for economic development shepherded by the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce is about to enter its second phase, titled Opportunities.

Friday, September 10

The newest JCTV programing is coming to a computer near you. With online social media more prevalent in everyday life, station manager Gloria Enloe said JCTV has now gotten on board with the movement by adding some new platforms.
Enloe said that close to six months ago, she and others at JCTV decided to launch a Facebook page for the station. But just two weeks ago, Enloe said, the station took the next step when they added a JCTV YouTube station to the fold.

The newest developer of the Jefferson City riverfront might just be the federal government.
In a Wednesday announcement, a government program called “Greening America’s Capitals” named Jefferson City as one of five state capitals to receive federal assistance to help develop neighborhoods surrounding the Capitol that incorporates green building and infrastructure strategies.

Review coincides with panel’s work to curb tax credits

A state audit released Wednesday chided Missouri officials for poor oversight and inflated estimates of the economic benefits the state receives from a pair of business tax credit programs.
The report from Auditor Susan Montee came the same day a commission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon began a review of Missouri’s many tax credits with a goal of recommending the elimination or reduction of some of them.

Thursday, September 9

A state audit released Wednesday chided Missouri officials for poor oversight and inflated estimates of the economic benefits the state receives from a pair of business tax credit programs.
The report from Auditor Susan Montee came the same day a commission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon began a review of Missouri’s many tax credits with a goal of recommending the elimination or reduction of some of them.

Although no final number was agreed on Tuesday, it seemed both the Cole County Commission and Cole County Sheriff's Department were coming to more of an understanding about how many people will be needed to run the new jail when it opens next year.
Tuesday was the first meeting since commissioners and Sheriff Greg White had discussed a report from County Auditor Jim LePage which used National Institute of Corrections information and concluded the new jail would need 41 employees.
White said he and his staff would stand by the LePage report recommendation because they have to give people time off and much of their training is done in groups.

This week, about 20 neighborhood watch groups will be getting together throughout Jefferson City, and police are hopeful this year's observance of National Night Out Against Crime will spur an increase in watch programs.